More gaming goodness

It's a good week to be a PC gamer, isn't it? GOG.com just kicked off its autumn sale with deep discounts and free games, and if you still want to add to your collection, the Humble Jumbo Bundle 3 gets you a handful of titles, including four copies of Insurgency -- one for you to keep and three to share with others. Talk about good timing now that the holiday shopping season is virtually upon us!

Free tool promises to bust a cap in uninvited browser add-ons and other adware

We've praised Bitdefender's Internet Security software on more than one occasion, as it typically performs well in our annual antivirus roundups. The company also offers a free antivirus solution for those who don't need a full fledged security suite, and adding to its pro bono portfolio, Bitdefender just launched a free tool to scan for and rid your system of various kinds of adware.

De-cluttering your inbox

Microsoft this week started rolling out Clutter to Office 365 business customers to help them better manage their emails. Previously known as Delve, Microsoft's Clutter tool uses machine learning to de-clutter your inbox by moving lower priority messages into a dedicated folder. In theory, what gets left behind are more urgent emails that need your immediate attention.

Playing with Unreal Engine 4

Epic Games made the decision earlier this year to offer up its Unreal Engine 4 to anyone and everyone for $19 per month (plus 5 percent of gross revenue resulting from any commercial products you build using UE4), affording game developers of any size and budget a chance to play with a complete and popular game engine. Wondering what you can do with it? To get a taste, there are two new UE4 demos available, one for HTML5 and the other for Nvidia's Maxwell GPUs.

AMD Radeon graphics card owners had to sit back and watch as Nvidia released not one, but two WHQL certified driver releases in less than a week, one of which included performance tweaks for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and the other adding Assassin's Creed Unity optimizations to the mix. If you've pitched a tent in AMD's camp, you can stop pounding sand now -- AMD's Catalyst 14.11.1 beta driver is now available with performance enhancements for both titles.

Kevin Spacey and company be buggin', yo!

This is one of those cases where it's not okay to shoot the messenger (is it ever?), but in case you were wondering, a patch for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is coming soon. Developer Sledgehammer Games says so, as does Captain Obvious, who points out that post-release patches for major titles are as common as post-releases patches for major titles (he's a smart one, that Captain Obvious).

Here's what you'll need to enter Kyrat

There's a vast open world coming your way later this month, and it's filled with monkeys and tigers and bears, oh my! We're of course talking about Kyrat, a fictional region in the Himalayas that serves as the setting for Ubisoft's forthcoming Far Cry 4. There will be lots of animals, enemies, weapons, and vehicles, but before you think about getting acquianted with any of them, here's a look at Far Cry 4's system requirements.

Software security makers are suddenly hot acquisition targets

One of the names that always comes up when discussing free antivirus software is AVG Technologies. The company also offers a line of paid products for those who want more robust protection and features, and after 13 years in the business, has built up a market capitalization of around $930 million. AVG's also made itself attractive to suitors -- it's being reported that potential buyers have approached AVG amid a wave of deals for security software makers.

Lots of DLC, and it will all be free!

If anyone in the gaming community deserves a virtual fist bump today, it's Marcin Iwiński, co-founder and joint CEO of CD Projekt Red. In an open letter to gamers, Iwiński revealed that there will be 16 pieces of DLC for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and that each one will be free. It doesn't matter what platform you buy the game for, nor do you have to pre-order the game or pick up a special edition to qualify for the free DLC.

Combine bundles for more gaming goodness

The barrage of game bundles continues today with AMD announcing that qualifying purchases of Radeon R9 295X2, R9 290X, or R9 290 graphics cards will be score a free copy of Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth. Purchases must be made from a participating retailer or e-tailer between today and either February 28, 2015, or when AMD's supply of download codes is exhausted, whichever comes first. But wait, it gets better.